San Diego Buyer Pays $54M in Condo Conversion Deal

CORONA, CA-Hammer Ventures of San Diego has acquired a 296-unit apartment complex called the Crossing from Archstone-Smith for $53.9 million as a condo conversion play, according to Transwestern Multi Housing Capital Advisors. The property is a 13-building complex at 2125 High Point Dr. that was built in 1989 and consists of 13 three-story buildings.

Curtis Palmer of Transwestern Multi Housing Capital Advisors tells GlobeSt.com that the listing drew multiple offers and that despite the large number of conversions of apartment complexes into condominiums in Southern California, opportunities for condo conversion still remain for the right investor profile. Palmer, Herb Chase and Alex Quintana of Transwestern brokered the deal on behalf of Englewood, CO-based Archstone-Smith, a REIT that specializes in apartments.

The Crossing consists of one- and two-bedroom apartments with amenities including washers and dryers in all units, patios and balconies at most units, skylights, high ceilings and other upscale architectural features. The complex, near shopping and transportation corridors, features racquetball and tennis courts, a gated entrance, a newly renovated fitness center and other facilities.

The Corona deal is the latest in a series of Southland transactions in recent years for Archstone-Smith, which bought the 416-unit Somerset Park apartment complex in the Orange County city of Placentia in August for 479.3 million. Southern California is the second-largest core market for the REIT-behind Washington, DC-and Archstone-Smith has been involved in some of the largest multifamily deals in this region in recent years.

The Corona condominium conversion will be the latest in a series of condo plays for the San Diego developer, whose projects include the $52-million Little Tokyo Lofts in Los Angeles, where Hammer is converting a six-story former office building into a 161-unit multifamily development.